Introspection - The Key to a Top MBA Admit

This is truly the foundation for all the content conveyed in your application. The quality of your introspection determines the overall altitude of your applications.

This is truly the foundation for all the content conveyed in your application. The quality of your introspection determines the overall altitude of your applications.

The application writing process is many things, but above all, it is about helping the admissions committee GET TO KNOW YOU.

You want them to like you, and for this to happen, you must allow them to get to know you. Beyond work accomplishments. WAAAAY beyond that, if you want to separate yourself.

In summation: the better the introspection, the more you will know yourself. The more you know yourself, the better the admissions committee will get to know you! The better they get to know you, the more "real" you become to them, they more they like you, the more you stand out. And of course, the most important thing: YOU GET INTO THEIR SCHOOL. YAY!

In the absence of a coach, I recommend you find someone skilled in the art of listening and asking you questions that bring forth information about "how you tick." When I hear my clients narrate their stories around leadership, problem solving, successes, and failures, I can identify the qualities they are exhibiting in these stories. And finally, I help summarize all this in a tidy phrase or expression that helps the admissions committee (and prospective employers) digest it. As HBS states, " in clear language that those of us who don't know your world can understand".

This is often so tricky, because once you are in your world, it's hard to UNLEARN all the acronyms, jargon, expressions, and shortcut language that serves as an *extreme barrier* to those outside your industry or role. With this barrier in place, those outside your world cannot appreciate the magic you bring.

A good way to kick things off is assessments. One fun, no-cost tool is 16 Personalities. Every client describes it as "freakishly accurate" just like they say on their homepage. What I like most about it is that you find words to describe you **that you can leverage in your application responses and interviews.** Here's the link: https://www.16personalities.com